The Boy Problem, II. Some Suggestions for Its Solution

THE BOY PROBLEM. BY DR. E. G. GO WANS, JUDGE OF THE JUVENILE COURT. 11— SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ITS SOLUTION. Looking this problem squarely in the face, it would seem that one of the most important factors in its solution is a better preparation for parenthood. A high conception of parenthood demands that we look upon it as a profession as well as a duty to ourselves and the race ; and if • it be regarded as a profession, there should be had by everyone entering upon it an adequate preparation for its duties and responsibilities. The preparation which we make for other professions is long and tedious . If a young man desires to follow the profession of medicine, for example, after having finished the public school work, he applies himself to high school work for a period of four years; then spends at least two years in a college of liberal arts, before he is prepared to begin the study of medicine. The medical course itself extends over four years, and is usually supplemented by a year or two of hospital work, and then our young man is prepared to undertake the work of looking after the health of a few of his fellows. The same may be said of the law, teaching, engineering, architecture, and other professions. Now if it be necessary to make such an elaborate preparation for one of these professions, is it not far more necessary to make a proper preparation for that greater profession of parenthood? This certainly would seem to be a legitimate conclusion. Our system of education is at fault in not furnishing the right kind of educational preparation. It is possible for a young man

THE BOY PROBLEM. 297 to have reached maturity and passed successively through the elementary school, the high school, and the university, and to be told by his ahna mater that he is now prepared for life, and yet have received absolutely no instruction in the most vital of all subjects— human nature — the study of the most perfect work of the Divine Creator. The result is that so far as school education is concerned, the great majority of men and women, almost all, indeed, enter upon their marital careers with no conception whatever of the duties and responsibilities of parenthood. Our educational system is such that in the so-called preparation for life men come to know more of stocks and bonds than of boys and girls; more of merchandise than they do of human development. Women know more of political economy than of domestic art; more of the dead languages than of the language of child-life; more of "useless abstractions than of the forces that go to make character." Why should not the schools provide instruction in anatomy, physiology, hygiene, and embryology — the subjects which put the student in possession of the vital facts of life and nature? Why should there not be provided for both men and women plain, unambiguous instruction in the science of sex? Why should the general culture courses in our high schools and colleges not provide opportunities to become familiar with the study of psychology and the period of adolescence? And further, why should not women— all women — have an opportunity to qualify themselves for homemaking, by pursuing such subjects as household chemistry, household bacteriology, dietetics, cookery, household management, the care of the sick, the care and rearing of children, and the various other subjects which when applied to daily living reduce household work from drudgery, and transform even the humblest house into a home? This matter of home-making is a vital part of the work ©f parenthood. Not many parents have given attention to, or are interested in,such subjects as the growth of children, the development of their organs, and the parents' duties in supplying conditions favorable thereto; the diseases of body and mind to which children are subject, and the possibilities of doing preventive work in this important field ; the reasons for the moral offenses of children and how to prevent them, the sexual development of boys and girls, and what

298 IMPRO VEMENT ERA . instructions should be given to the boy by his father, and to the girl by her mother; the demand for physical adroitness, the kinds of books to supply at different stages of development, etc. Careful study of each one of these subjects should be considered as a necessary part of one's preparation for parenthood, and those who have already assumed, or are about to assume, or hope to assume, the responsibilities of this great profession should seek to qualify themselves along these lines. Now, while the proper preparation for parenthood will not give us a complete solution of our problem, it will do very much toward it. Let parents be properly educated; let the home-makers consider their work as of great importance ; let children be brought into the world under the most favorable conditions; let homemaking be regarded as the noblest of all professions — which it is ; let the rearing of children be considered as something more than merely providing them with food and abed; let the responsibilities of parenthood sink deep into the consciousness of all who undertake it; then, undoubtedly, much would be done toward the solution of the boy problem and the girl problem, too, because the parental conditions would be made better, the hereditary equipment of the individual would be improved, there would be better homes, diseases of childhood would be prevented, the social and sociological conditions would be improved, and the craze for divorce and separation of parents would be measurably stemmed. To quote from an unpublished address of the author: "The highest ideal within the reach of humanity is the perfect home. With the advent of the perfect home will come the millennium. The making of such a home holds greater possibilities for the physical, mental, and moral improvement of the race than any other activity to which mankind can give attention" — and which further says concerning children, the chief product of the home: "What is the chief business of men and women in the world? What do human and divine institutions exist for? What is the ultimate purpose of governments, societies, school systems, and even the Church itself? Nothing more nor less than bringing children legitimately into the world, and bringing them to their fullest maturity. The measure in which men, women, and institutions contribute toward this is the measure of their success. Not to have